Measure calls for $15 minimum wage in Missouri

One Nov. 5 general election ballot initiative may feel like déjà vu for Missouri voters, who will be asked to decide whether or not to raise the state’s minimum wage.

It’s a question they were asked in 2018, when 62% of voters approved a stepped increase from $7.85 an hour to $12 in 2023, with further increases or decreases to be applied each year based on changes in the consumer price index.

Today, the minimum wage for Missourians is $12.30.

This year’s ballot measure, Proposition A, asks voters to increase the minimum wage on Jan. 1, 2025, to $13.75 per hour, with an increase of $1.25 per hour in 2026, bringing the minimum wage to $15 per hour, according to the ballot language. Thereafter, the minimum wage would again be adjusted each January based on the CPI.

Something new to Proposition A from the 2018 measure is a requirement that all employers provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked by an employee, according to the ballot language. Enforcement and oversight would be by the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Governmental entities, political subdivisions, school districts and educational institutions would be exempt from these requirements, the ballot language states.

Richard von Glahn, campaign manager for Missourians for Healthy Families and Fair Wages, which sponsored the ballot measure, said minimum wages are not enough for Missourians to live on.

“What we’ve seen is a current minimum wage of $12.30 an hour for a full-time worker is just $492 a week,” he said. “That’s not a living wage in any single county in the state of Missouri.”

As evidence, von Glahn cited the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage Calculator, which finds that single persons with no children living in the Springfield metro area must make $18.92 per hour to support themselves. The required annual income for this person is set by MIT at $39,347 before taxes, to include food, housing, transportation, medical, civic expenses, internet and phone.

“We know that workers deserve better than poverty, and $492 a week is unfortunately still a poverty wage in the state of Missouri,” he said.

With no lost time and 52 weeks of work, a full-time minimum-wage job factors out to an annual salary of $25,584.

U.S. Census Bureau figures from 2023 put the state’s median household income at $68,545.

The Missouri Budget Project reports that if the ballot measure is approved, over 562,000 Missouri workers will get a raise; nearly 90% of these workers are over the age of 20 and work at least 20 hours per week. Additionally, one in four children live in households that would experience an increase in income, according to the Missouri Budget Project, which notes 938,000 Missouri workers do not have access to paid sick leave.

Von Glahn said since the last wage increase ballot measure was approved, workers lived through a pandemic and a period of high inflation. It was hard to know in 2018 where things would be at this point, he said.

“We are grounded in the reality that workers are facing,” von Glahn said.

He added that a minimum wage is about guardrails being put up around the economy. He noted, however, that it’s important for minimum wage increases happen gradually.

“That way we can make sure businesses are prepared for it and can adjust,” he said.

Sick leave
Von Glahn said the paid sick days included in the ballot initiative would be a win all the way around.

“There are a lot of savings when you think about paid sick days,” he said. “States that have paid sick day requirements see a decrease in the spread of contagious disease. There’s a decrease in workers’ (compensation) claims. Workers know if they aren’t feeling well, they can stay home and recover, and that reduces the spread of contagious disease through the workplace.”

Paid sick leave also reduces what von Glahn referred to as presenteeism – when workers are physically present but unable to give 100%.

“Paid sick days are very common in administrative or executive-type positions, but they are not as common in positions that we now colloquially refer to as essential – things like construction, retail, food service, nursing homes, child care,” he said. “Those jobs really move the economy forward, but a lot of them are also some of the jobs that pay some of the lowest wages.”

He noted that many workers are living paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford to miss work without paid leave.

“If you know staying home means missing a day of pay, and if missing a day of pay means missing a utility payment at the end of the month or getting behind on rent and getting charged a late fee, that’s a real problem for people and workplaces,” he said. “We can always say to people, ‘Stay home if you’re sick,’ but if you don’t provide paid sick days, that’s an empty promise.”

Chamber view
Matt Morrow, president and CEO of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber has not yet drafted a position on Proposition A, but he anticipates the board of directors will take it up at its October meeting.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry has taken a position against Proposition A by noting that Missouri’s minimum wage already far outpaces the national minimum of $7.25.

“Ultimately, increased labor costs are passed down to consumers. As many U.S. families struggle with the effects of inflation, Proposition A will further increase the costs of goods and services here in Missouri,” said Kara Corches, interim president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber.

Morrow sees the measure as contrary to the chamber’s legislative priorities, and that’s especially true when it comes to guaranteed sick leave.

“As a matter of principle, typically businesses do well when they’re able to set their own policies to compete in the marketplace for talent,” he said. “Businesses typically make their own investments and decisions on paid time off and other benefits, designed to make them as competitive as possible for talent.”

He said it would be better for both employers and employees if the employers could build a benefit package that suits the needs of their workplace and keeps them competitive without the government prescribing what their benefits will be.

“Employers offer paid time off anyway – it’s very standard, and there’s a lot of value in letting them compete for that, rather than forcing in a one-size-fits-all approach,” he said.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that one in four of the nation’s private sector workers do not have paid sick time.

Morrow said the U.S. is experiencing a demographic shift that has available jobs outnumber the people looking for them.

“Because of the significant demographic shift, the actual wage is rarely dictated by the minimum wage,” he said.

Many Springfield employers already exceed the $15-per-hour minimum wage that is being proposed with their basic pay level.

For the area’s largest employer, CoxHealth, the base rate of pay for starting employees is $15.25, according to a spokesperson. A representative of Mercy Springfield Communities, the second-largest employer, said its base rate is $15. Walmart Stores Inc., third largest, starts at $14.

The fifth-largest employer, Springfield Public Schools, offers entry-level pay as low as $15.69 an hour, according to a district spokesperson.

Morrow said the ballot measure would most likely impact opportunities for new workers, including teenagers and those who are still in school and are just entering the workforce.

Morrow said there are multiple approaches to increasing wages. One is to grow the economy to create more opportunities. Another is for workers to skill up through degrees, certificates and other credentials so that they can put themselves on a sustainable path to higher wages and increase their buying power.

“Minimum wage is something the market adjust for through inflation,” he said.

He added that the chamber’s legislative agenda favors allowing a growing economy to be the impetus toward wage increases.

“When you increase the minimum wage, either it is irrelevant because the market forces are pushing it up already, which is what we’re seeing now, or it is highly relevant because it is pushing the market beyond what the market will sustain, in which case it causes inflation,” he said.

Business owner concerned
Du’Sean Howard owns the Jamaican Patty Co. LLC, with three locations – the original at 3439 S. Campbell Ave., a newer location at 301 Park Central West and a roving food truck.

The restaurant entices diners with authentic Jamaican flavors, with its jerk chicken, curry chicken, curry goat, country style pork and Rasta pasta.

But Howard said the restaurant, like most, operates on a tight margin, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Before COVID, people were more adventurous – they’d go to restaurants they weren’t familiar with,” he said. “Now, people are sticking to stuff that they were accustomed to before. Some restaurants have closed.”

Howard said the idea of another minimum wage increase is concerning.

“Things are incredibly hard right now,” he said. “It’s hard to keep up with everything.”

Jamaican Patty Co. can operate very efficiently, he said, noting a location can be operated by two people, or even just one.

As for paying higher base wages, Howard said some businesses can and should do so.

“Some, like mine, are not ready,” he said. “Big businesses have the manpower and the resources to do that. We don’t have that manpower.”

But workers should make a living wage, he said.

“Treat them the way you want to be treated, and if you can’t pay them more, don’t cheat them,” he said. “We just can’t afford to pay more right now.”

Changes are in the works for the restaurant – exciting ones, Howard said. He is in the process of turning his business into a franchise. The process has been long, tedious and expensive, but he is excited about what the future might hold.

For now, Howard has two full-time employees along with a handful of part-time workers who begin at minimum wage.

“This year has not been a very good year for us,” he said. “It’s picking up toward the end, but summer was the worst we’ve ever had.”

It’s something most restaurant owners will tell you, Howard said.

“We’re all hoping next year will be a good year.”